Major Depressive Disorder Case Study

Case Background:
The condition of severe and persistent treatment resistant Major Depressive Disorder prompted treatment with S-Adenosyl Methionine, which resulted in new and unusual tactile and visual hallucinations which the patient described as being of mice and snakes crawling on their body.

Major Depressive Disorder is mental disorder characterized by at least two weeks of low mood present across most situations and is often accompanied by a feeling of being down, depressed, or hopeless, as well as low self-esteem and disturbance in activities of daily living as well as sleep and appetite.

Tactile hallucinations are the false perception of tactile sensory input that creates a sensation of physical contact with an imagined object. Tactile hallucinations can be due to drug or alcohol consumption or may be independent of

She had been treated for severe treatment resistant MDD with 22 rounds of Electroconvulsive therapy and upwards of 10 different psychopharmacological interventions since 2002. She had been hospitalized on two occasions for suicidal intent, and only responded positively to fluoxetine, however discontinued due to digestive upset. After two weeks of starting therapy with SAMe, SC began to make marked improvements in her depression, as evidenced by self-reported scores on the PHQ-9 as well as self and her husband’s reports. After approximately 4 weeks on SAMe, SC discontinued it’s use due to the beginning of the experience of tactile and visual hallucinations. SC had begun treatment with Desvenlafaxine in June 2017, which could also be attributed to the symptoms, but given that the hallucinations only began five months into treatment, it is less likely that this was the sole contributor to those